Al Ferguson Movies
Enjoying one of the longest screen careers on record, Irish-born, English-reared Al Ferguson became one of the silent era's busiest Western villains, his wolf-like features instantly recognizable to action fans everywhere. According to the actor himself, Ferguson had entered films with the American company as early as 1910, and by 1912, he was appearing in Selig Westerns under the name of "Smoke" Ferguson, often opposite action heroine Myrtle Steadman. In 1920, Ferguson played Hector Dion's henchman in the partially extant The Lost City, the first of more than 40 serials, silent and sound, in which he would appear. Still reasonably good-looking by the early '20s, Ferguson even attempted to become an action star in his own right, producing, directing, and starring in a handful of low-budget Westerns filmed in Oregon and released to the States' Rights market by Poverty Row mogul J. Charles Davis. None of these potboilers, which included The Fighting Romeo (1925), with Ferguson as a ranch foreman rescuing his employer's kidnapped daughter, made him a star, however, and he returned to ply his nefarious trade in low-budget oaters featuring the likes of Bob Steele and Tom Tyler. Today, Ferguson is perhaps best remembered as the main heavy in two Tarzan serials, Tarzan the Mighty (1928) and Tarzan the Tiger (1929), both starring Frank Merrill. The later survives intact and Ferguson emerges as a melodramatic screen villain at the top of his game.Like most of his contemporaries, including Bud Osborne and the silent era James Mason, Al Ferguson saw his roles decrease in stature after the advent of sound. Not because of his Irish accent, which had become all but undetectable, but mainly due to changing acting styles. Ferguson, however, hung in there and appeared in scores of sound Westerns and serials, not exclusively portraying villains but also playing lawmen, peaceful ranchers, townsmen, and even a Native American or two. By the 1950s, he had included television shows such as Sky King to his long resumé, but B-Westerns and serials remained Ferguson's bread and butter, the now veteran actor appearing in the cast of both Perils of the Wilderness (1956) and Blazing the Overland Trail (1956), the final chapter plays to be released in America. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1926
Silent serial star Ben Wilson was the penny-pinching producer of the 1926 feature Captain's Courage. Set in the North Woods, the well-photographed film involves a violent dispute over possession of an island somewhere in Lake Michigan. The script is allegedly based on a story by James Oliver Curwood, a "magic" name at the box office back in the 1920s (he was to "northerns" what Zane Grey was to westerns). The leading lady is Dorothy Dwan, the wife of comedian Larry Semon. Captain's Courage comes to life during the action sequences, then grinds to a halt whenever anyone is required to act. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Henderson, Richard Holt, (more)
- 1946
If Grecian storyteller Aesop really did exist, he was most likely a black slave. He wasn't an Austrian actor with an Egyptian name, but that's who played him in A Night in Paradise. Turhan Bey portrays the fable-spouting Aesop, who tries to escape his bondage by disguising himself as an old man. It is at the lavish court of King Croesus that the greyed-up Aesop first meets luscious Grecian princess Merle Oberon. The low-born talespinner is smitten, and determines to win the princess for his very own. Moral: If Universal buys a novel by George S. Hellman titled The Peacock's Feather, transforms it into a picture called A Night in Paradise, and appoints onetime Abbott and Costello cohort Arthur Lubin as director, you know what you're in for. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Merle Oberon, Turhan Bey, (more)
Previously filmed in 1931 under its original title, Theodore Dreiser's bulky but brilliant novel An American Tragedy was remade in 1951 by George Stevens as A Place in the Sun. Montgomery Clift stars as George Eastman, a handsome and charming but basically aimless young man who goes to work in a factory run by a distant, wealthy relative. Feeling lonely one evening, he has a brief rendezvous with assembly-line worker Alice Tripp (Shelley Winters), but he forgets all about her when he falls for dazzling socialite Angela Vickers (Elizabeth Taylor). Alice can't forget about him, though: she is pregnant with his child. Just when George's personal and professional futures seem assured, Alice demands that he marry her or she'll expose him to his society friends. This predicament sets in motion a chain of events that will ultimately include George's arrest and numerous other tragedies, including a vicious cross-examination by a D.A. played by future Perry Mason Raymond Burr. A huge improvement over the 1931 An American Tragedy, directed by Josef von Sternberg, A Place in the Sun softens some of the rough edges of Dreiser's naturalism, most notably in the passages pertaining to George's and Angela's romance. Even those 1951 bobbysoxers who wouldn't have been caught dead poring through the Dreiser original were mesmerized by the loving, near-erotic full facial closeups of Clift and Taylor as they pledge eternal devotion. A Place in the Sun won six Oscars, including Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography, although it lost Best Picture to An American in Paris. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, (more)
- 1934
A potentially good idea -- mixing Western hi-jinks with horror film elements -- was wasted on this impoverished 20 minute "Bud'n Ben" series entry. Bud (Jack Perrin) and Ben (Ben Corbett) are border patrol officers investigating the disappearance of one of their colleagues, Trent (Robert Walker). As it turns out, Trent had stumbled over a scheme by Professor Valeski (Al Ferguson) to smuggle Egyptian mummies across the border from Mexico. Inside the mummy cases, however, are stashed illegal aliens. Trent's wounded horse (Starlight) leads the two investigators to Valeski's hacienda, where Ann Cavanaugh (Marie Quillan) is held prisoner. Bud saves lovely Ann from being wrapped as a mummy and buried alive. His evil schemes now out in the open, Valeski attempts to flee but is caught by Starlight, who kicks him to death. Written by Bennett Cohen, Arizona Nights was the fourth of seven short Westerns starring Corbett and various former silent cowboys. Two-reel Westerns, a stable of the '20s, went out with a whisper with this poverty-stricken series. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1944
In their third and final "Trail Blazers" Western together, Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson and Bob Steele witness what appears to be a gang of Indians raiding a stagecoach. Investigating, the three lawmen discover that the attackers are actually white bandits dressed as Indians and that their leader is one Polini (Ian Keith), a gangster smuggling diamonds in the axle grease of the stagecoach wheels. Aided by young Donny Davis (Don Stewart) and pert Ruth Hampton (Myrna Dell), the "Trail Blazers" survive several clashes with death -- including being trapped inside a cave -- before Polini and his cohort, Banker Steve Lynch (Karl Hackett), are apprehended. In only her second Western, blonde heroine Myrna Dell was not exactly in awe of her veteran leading men who, as she later recalled were "old enough to be my grandfather!" Maynard, in fact, had come to the end of his long starring career. Unable to get along with his more athletic co-star Bob Steele, the often cantankerous left the series and only returned to films in rare cameo appearances. His place in the final two "Trail Blazers" Westerns was taken by Chief Thundercloud. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson, (more)
- 1945
Shortly before Universal Pictures disbanded its "B" unit, the studio inaugurated an energetic western series starring Rod Cameron. In Beyond the Pecos, Cameron plays a rancher at odds with longtime rival Eddie Dew (himself a "B" sagebrush star at other studios). The two brawny men in Stetsons battle over rights of oil land that borders both their properties. When they tire of squabbling over money, Cameron and Dew fight over the attentions of pretty Jennifer Holt (daughter of Jack Holt). Director Lambert Hillyer handles Beyond the Pecos with his customary speed and efficiency. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Burt Lancaster had one of his first starring roles in this hard-hitting prison drama. Capt. Munsey (Hume Cronyn) is a cruel, corrupt prison guard who has his own less-than-ethical ways of dealing with inmates, enough so that Joe Collins (Lancaster) -- the toughest inmate in the cell block -- has decided to break out. Collins tries to persuade Gallagher (Charles Bickford), the unofficial leader of the inmates and editor of the prison newspaper, to join him, but Gallagher thinks Collins' plan won't work. However, Collins does have the support of his cellmates, most of whom, like himself, wandered into a life of crime thanks to love and good intentions. Tom Lister (Whit Bissell) was an accountant who altered the books so he could buy his wife a mink coat. Soldier (Howard Duff) fell in love with an Italian girl during World War II and took the rap for her when she murdered her father. Collins pulled a bank job to raise money to pay for an operation that could possibly get his girl out of a wheelchair. And Spencer (John Hoyt) made the mistake of getting involved with a female con artist. After Munsey drives Tom to suicide and prevents Gallagher from obtaining parole, Gallagher joins up with Collins and his men in the escape attempt. Director Jules Dassin would next direct the influential noir drama The Naked City; six years later, he would move to Europe after political blacklisting prevented him from continuing to work in the United States. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, (more)
- 1942
Captain Midnight is a 15-episode serial based on the radio adventure series of the same name. Captain Albright (Dave O'Brien), an ace aviator better known as Captain Midnight, is assigned to neutralize the evil enemy scientist Ivan Shark (James Craven), who is merrily bombing major American cities. Shark is after a new range finder invented by an altruistic scientist (Bryant Washburn). The scientist of course has a beautiful daughter (Dorothy Short, then Mrs. Dave O'Brien) who seemingly can't mail a letter without being kidnapped. With Captain America on the case, Ivan Shark finds his best laid schemes going "agley", and once more the world is made safe for Democracy and Ovaltine. Like many wartime Columbia serials, Captain America is hilariously and endearingly overdirected by former Laurel and Hardy associate James W. Horne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Carrie is based on Sister Carrie, a novel by Theodore Dreiser. Dreiser's clumsy, unwieldy prose is streamlined into a neat and precise screenplay by Ruth and Augustus Goetz. Jennifer Jones stars as Carrie, who leaves her go-nowhere small town for the wicked metropolis of Chicago. Here she becomes the mistress of brash traveling salesman Charles Drouet (Eddie Albert), then throws him over in favor of erudite restaurant manager George Hurstwood (Laurence Olivier). Obsessed by Carrie, George steals money from his boss to support her in the manner to which he thinks she is accustomed. Left broke and disgraced by the ensuing scandal, Carrie deserts George to become an actress. Years later, the conscience-stricken Carrie tries to regenerate George, who has fallen into bum-hood. If Laurence Olivier seems a surprising casting choice in Carrie, try to imagine what the film would have been like had Cary Grant, Paramount's first choice, accepted the role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Olivier, Jennifer Jones, (more)
- 1938
This Roy Rogers musical western (his second starring vehicle for Republic) concerns itself with a group of Texas Rangers, forced to disband when Texas is admitted the Union. The state brings in members of the U.S. Cavalry to provide law enforcement in the Rangers' stead, yet the Cavalry officers become hopelessly confused and muddled -- not only from their ignorance of the territory, but by the guerilla tactics of Texas bandits and local political corruption. When ex-ranger Rogers's brother is killed, he recognizes that the Cavalry will not be able to respond with proper force, and asks his fellow ex-rangers to take up arms in vengeance. The film co-stars Mary Hart, Raymond Hatton, J. Farrell MacDonald and Purnell Pratt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, Mary Hart, (more)
- 1950
With Dallas, Gary Cooper revived his long-dormant association with westerns. Cooper plays ex-Confederate officer Blayde Hollister, who rides into Dallas in search of the men who killed his family and stole his land. Because he is considered to be an outlaw by the authorities, Hollister is compelled to switch identities with U.S. marshal Martin Wetherby (Leif Erickson). This ruse requires Hollister to explain his plan to Wetherby's lady friend, Tonia Robles (Ruth Roman). One by one, Hollister gets rid of the men responsible for the murders of his loved ones. The most formidable of his enemies, Will Marlow (Raymond Massey), proves to be a bit too clever to fall into Hollister's trap...at least until Marlow shows his hand in the final scene. There's more talk than action in Dallas, but Gary Cooper's laconic performance holds the audience's interest throughout. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Ruth Roman, (more)
- 1944
Having worked as a duo in the first three entries of Monogram's low-budget "Trail Blazers" series, veteran Western stars Ken Maynard and Hoot Gibson were joined by Bob Steele in the fourth, Death Valley Rangers -- reportedly much to Maynard's dismay. Although not much younger than his august partners, Steele was still nimble enough to take care of the more strenuous fisticuffs and he was even somewhat believable in romantic clinches -- as opposed to his co-stars, whose ever expanding waistlines did not allow for tender scenes. This time, "The Trail Blazers," government agents, investigate a series of gold shipment thefts in Death Valley committed by a gang headed by Jim Kirk (Weldon Heyburn, whose name was misspelled "Hayburn" in the on-screen credits!). Kirk has hired a crooked scientist, Doc Thorne (Karl Hackett), who has discovered a method to pour the stolen gold back into the rock, where it will be indistinguishable from virgin ore. Steele infiltrates the gang and with the help of his partners, Death Valley is soon safe from Kirk and his gang. Like most of the "Trail Blazers" Westerns, Death Valley Rangers was filmed at Corriganville, actor Ray "Crash" Corrigan's movie ranch in Simi Valley, California. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson, (more)
- 1944
Buster Crabbe is back as Billy Carson, aka Billy the Kid, in the PRC western The Devil Riders. In this one, Billy and his saddle pal Fuzzy Q. Jones (Al St. John) try to keep an beleagured stagecoach line in business. This they can do only after foiling the outlaw gang that has been raiding the coach during its runs for the Pony Express. The bad guys include Charles King and John Merton, formidable foes indeed (did those guys ever shave?) Patti McCarthy handles the leading lady duties in Devil Riders as the obligatory daughter of the stagecoach operator. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry "Buster" Crabbe, Patti McCarty, (more)
- 1941
Tim Holt is, of course, a true red-blooded cowboy in this overly tuneful RKO Western and only pretends to be the title character in order to locate a kidnapped engraver. The latter (Byron Foulger) is forced by a crooked dude ranch owner (Eddie Kane) to print counterfeit money but a couple of bills find their way to the government offices in Reno. Tim isn't the only ranch guest operating under a disguise, however, the engraver's pretty daughter (Marjorie Reynolds) is also present and manages to get herself into plenty of trouble. As always, Holt is joined by sidekicks Lee "Lasses" White and Ray Whitley, the latter performing his own and Fred Rose's title tune as well as "Silver Rio," "End of the Canyon Trail," and "Echo Singing in the Wild Wind." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Holt, Marjorie Reynolds, (more)
- 1925
Although Al Ferguson had a face that was a natural for villains, he plays the hero in this routine Western, which he also directed. Rustlers are stealing cattle from Paradise Ranch, which is owned by Helen McMasters (Elaine Eastman). Dave Matthews, her foreman (Ferguson), believes that Buck Connors (Paul Emery) is the leader of the gang, but is having trouble finding evidence. When he goes East with a cattle shipment, he becomes involved in the troublesome affairs of Jim Warner. As a favor to Jim's father (George Routh), he brings the young man West. Jim, a complete tenderfoot, attempts to impress Helen with his machismo, but runs in the opposite direction when faced with Connors. Helen discovers a thief branding one of her steer, and she is captured. Both Jim and Matthews go to her rescue. Jim has to drum up the courage to save the day when Matthews is ambushed by Connors and his men. He rescues both Matthews and Helen and forces the bad guys to surrender, all with an unloaded gun. Because of his bravery, Jim becomes foreman of Paradise Ranch -- the position is vacated when Matthews weds Helen. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1953
Forbidden bears traces of several earlier film noirs, with Tony Curtis filling the shoes vacated by the likes of Alan Ladd, Dick Powell and Robert Mitchum. Curtis acquits himself very nicely as a small-time hood sent to Macao by gangster Lyle Bettger to locate Joanne Dru, the widow of another gangster. It will not spoil the film to reveal here that Curtis and Dru fall in love as he escorts her back. Nor is there any surprise in the revelation that hero and heroine decide to dodge Bettger once they learn that they've both been set up for extermination. Forbidden was directed by Rudolph Mate, a former cinematographer who could probably find long, looming shadows in the Sahara Desert at high noon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Joanne Dru, (more)
- 1949
One wonders if Donald O'Connor would have consented to star in Francis if he knew that a series was to follow. Adapted by David Stern from his own novel, the film stars O'Connor as GI Peter Sterling, who appears to be bucking for a Section Eight. Seems that Sterling keeps insisting that Francis, a cantankerous Army mule, has the power of speech. It turns out that Francis not only can talk, but is also a superb military strategist. With Francis' help, Sterling breaks up a Nazi spy ring and becomes a hero -- but this is only the beginning, as the future entries in Universal's Francis series would prove over and over. Providing able support to the hapless O'Connor are Patricia Medina, Ray Collins, and especially ZaSu Pitts as a bewildered Army nurse. The voice of Francis is provided by Chill Wills, who likewise showed up in most of the Francis sequels, and who, like O'Connor, bailed out before the final entry, Francis in a Haunted House (1956). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald O'Connor, Patricia Medina, (more)
- 1939
Following up his movie portrayal of Wild Bill Hickok, Bill Elliot stars as famed trailblazer John "Frontier" Freeman in Columbia's Frontiers of '49. The film takes place in 19th century California, where a crooked real estate firm is merrily selling off Spanish land grants in exchange for exorbitant tax levies. The US government sends Freeman to investigate this activity, accompanied by grizzled frontier scout Kit Carson (Hal Taliaferro). When not tangling with chief heavy Howard Brunon (the inescapable Charles King), Freeman romances aristocratic Spanish senorita Dolores de Cervantes (Luana de Alcaniz). Rather ambitious for a B picture, Frontiers of '49 could use a little less talk and a lot more action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1935
Making his debut as Columbia Pictures' new cowboy hero -- replacing, incidentally, the aging Tim McCoy -- handsome Charles Starrett played Johnny Flagg, a roving cowboy who arrives in Oro Grande in the midst of a feud between ranchers and homesteader. Lead by the disreputable Bar Munro (Harry Woods), the ranchers are attempting to scare the settlers off valuable land leased from the government. Lovely Barbara McGrail, meanwhile, suspects Munro of murdering her father and enlists Johnny's help. When Cattlemen's Association foreman Harvey Campbell (Edward le saint) switches sides to support the settlers, Munro has him killed, framing Johnny for the crime.The latter, however, carries proof of his innocence and instead challenges Munro to a shootout. Munro draws but is too slow for Johnny who, victorious, asks for Barbara's hand in marriage. At 6"2' and sporting a white Steson, black shirt and flowing scarf -- a piece of silk reportedly "borrowed" from a nightgown Rita Hayworth had used in a film -- Starrett was an instant hit as a cowboy star and would go on to make an unprecedented 131 Westerns for Columbia, ending his long run with the studio with The Kid from Broken Gun in 1952. Starrett's first leading lady, Joan Perry, later married studio mogul Harry Cohn. Ostensibly based on a story by Peter B. Kyne, The Gallant Defender including two musical numbers -- Blue Skies Above and Covered Wagons -- written and performed by the Western music group The Sons of the Pioneers who, like Starrett, had recently signed with Columbia. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Joan Perry, (more)
- 1943
In this drama, set at a WW II munitions plant, the lives of five workers are chronicled. Their stories are told via flashback. Though they all ride together to work everyday, and they think they know each other very well, the stories they tell show them otherwise. The group of workers is made up of: a fighter for the French underground who came to America to help her countrymen back home; a race-car driver who, while racing, sustained serious injuries that rendered him unfit for military service; a disillusioned "Miss America"; a prison warden who was ordered to execute his own brother; and a hobo who decided to do something to help his country. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margo, John Carradine, (more)
- 1944
Ingrid Bergman won her first of three Oscars for this suspense thriller, crafted with surprising tautness by normally genteel "women's picture" director George Cukor. Bergman stars as Paula Alquist, a late 19th century English singer studying music in Italy. However, Paula abandons her studies because she's fallen in love with dapper, handsome Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer). The couple marries and returns to the U.K. and a home inherited by Paula from her aunt, herself a famous singer, who was mysteriously murdered in the house ten years before. Once they have moved in, Gregory, who is in reality a jewel thief and the murderer of Paula's aunt, launches a campaign of terror designed to drive his new bride insane. Though Paula is certain that she sees the house's gaslights dim every evening and that there are strange noises coming from the attic, Gregory convinces Paula that she's imagining things. Gregory's efforts to make Paula unstable are aided by an impertinent maid, Nancy (teenager Angela Lansbury in her feature film debut). Meanwhile, a Scotland Yard inspector, Brian Cameron (Joseph Cotten), becomes suspicious of Gregory and sympathetic to Paula's plight. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, (more)
- 1946
In this western comedy, the mis-adventures of a bumbling range rider are chronicled. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Lowery
- 1929
Ted Wells was nearing the end of his days as a Universal cowboy star when he made Grit Wins, in which he prevents the villainous Al Ferguson from swindling kindly old Buck Connors out of home and hearth. The handsome Wells was a mediocre actor at best and never able to overcome a certain air of also-ran status. He briefly found a new berth with poverty-row producer Robert J. Horner, who changed Wells' name to first Pawnee Bill, Jr. then Johno Wells. The Horner westerns were made with almost no budgets at all and ended Wells' starring aspirations for good. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Ferguson, Ted Wells, (more)
- 1928
Rex the Wonder Horse gets some screen competition in the form of Jack Perrin's magnificent white steed Starlight in Guardians of the West. Most of the film's heroics are handled by Perrin, who rescues heroine Ethyline Clair from the mortgage-holding villains. He also saves the girl from a raging forest fire (which looks like the real thing). On several occasions, however, it is Rex who precipitates Perrin's derring-do by tipping off the human hero about the perils facing the helpless Clair. Legend has it that Rex was one of the meanest horses ever to draw breath, but no one could deny that he was a magnificent screen presence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Perrin, Starlight the Horse, (more)
